The rocket launched Wednesday morning by North Korea blasted off from the same pad in the country's northwest where work was reportedly done the previous day to remove the rocket, Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto said.
He told a news conference at the Defense Ministry that the rocket was "ready to be launched" Wednesday after "various changes in circumstances occurred to the launchpad" following the reported work.
Now that the rocket has been launched, Self-Defense Forces units deployed in preparation for the launch will be withdrawn as swiftly as possible, Morimoto said, adding that the SDF was continuing efforts to determine whether the launch caused any damage on Japanese territory.